Considering buying a used car 10-years or older? What you need to know about odometer disclosures in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin law only requires odometer disclosures on used cars if the car is less than 10 years old (current year - model year). An odometer disclosure is a written statement to a buyer of the car’s odometer reading that must be provided to you in the purchase documents, which is a required disclosure under Wisconsin odometer law (Trans 154). For example, if you buy a 2007 model year car in 2017, it is 10 years old and the dealer does not have to make an odometer disclosure. So if the dealer misrepresents the mileage of the car, Wisconsin odometer law isn’t going to help. Too bad too, as they have significant remedies.

But you are not without remedies if the car dealer does misrepresent the mileage in any advertisement, verbal sales talk before your purchase decision, on the Used Car Buyer’s Guide, or in any other representation that you relied upon in making your decision to buy the car. These misrepresentations may be violations of Wisconsin’s deceptive trade practices act, the Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Dealer law, and common law duties.